The Wound That Never Heals
by dyingstar-elipsis
Summary: Tsuzuki is suspected to be the murderer behind the series of murders in Kyoto where all the victim's souls have been destroyed. Hisoka is assisting Watari with the case but how is he suppose to fight against the person most important to him?
1. Chapter 1

The Wound That Never Heals  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Life is like a coin. For every head, there must be a tail. In life, the amount of happy times will be cancelled by the amount of sorrowful times. The number of failures will determine the joy of your success. Everything is perfectly balanced. That's why, the amount of sugar you eat will be equally balanced by the amount of bitterness you get. This is life. Tsuzuki Asato, happily eating every dessert he could get his hands on, clearly did not know this.  
  
"Baka, you will get retribution for eating so much sugar," was Kurosaki Hisoka's pleasant reply to Tsuzuki's offer to share the food.  
  
"So mean!" Tsuzuki pouted but his displeasure lasted only for 3 seconds as he began to attack the apple tarts and the fruitcakes with renewed vigour. Hisoka watched his partner with disgust and returned to his book, Crime and Punishment Volume II.  
  
"Oh my Emma, these are good," Tsuzuki said through a mouthful of tarts and cakes. "And I almost forgot, how did these get to be on the table?" Hisoka was thoroughly disgusted.  
  
"Of course, not even a bomb could stop our glutton from eating whatever he could get his paws on," came the familiar voice radiating disapproval. Terazuma Hajime soon followed his voice into the room.  
  
"Really Hajime-chan, that's not the nice way to start the morning with your colleague. Don't be so mean to Tsuzuki-chan," another cheerful voice was heard and the owner came only a few seconds after Terazuma.  
  
"I just knew it, Wakaba-chan, you made all these. You are wonderful, Wakaba- chan, these are delicious," it would be redundant to state who said this.  
  
"Well, I'm glad you like it and you can have all of it because somebody said that he did not want a single bite. Of course, Hisoka-kun would be welcomed to it as well," Wakaba Kannuki gave a very pointed glare to Terazuma.  
  
"Oh Wakaba-chan, you are the best. I love you," Tsuzuki glomped Wakaba. Terazuma's head snapped up from behind the newspapers. Hisoka remained passive, muttering baka under his breath.  
  
"Tsuzuki Asato! What the hell do you think you are doing with my partner? You this good-for-nothing-forever-eating glutton! I will never let you off today! Don't you dare touch Kannuki!" Terazuma stood up suddenly, crushing the paper into pulp in his hands. He aimed a kick right in the middle of Tsuzuki's face. Tsuzuki was knocked off his feet. He got up with deliberate slowness.  
  
"You this shape-changing freak! Is this the way you treat your sempai? Don't make me call Byakko to deal with you. It's not as if you could touch Wakaba-chan even if I do not touch her," Tsuzuki growled, oblivious to Wakaba's nervous attempts to get him interested in the apple tarts again.  
  
It hit home. Terazuma froze, then with a deep growl, black hair started to sprout. Tsuzuki shook off Wakaba's insistent arm and started to chant.  
  
"Bowing before you I present my wish, the twelve gods who protect me! Blade of air, steel of vacuum, bearing fang of silvery-white! Appear before me! Byakko!"  
  
At this very critical moment, Tatsumi walked in. Taking one look at what was going on, he lost it.  
  
"Tsuzuki Asato, Terazuma Hajime! What the hell are you doing?" he roared. There was a sudden silence and everybody froze. Terazuma stopped in his mid- changing and Byakko, who was beginning to materialize, quickly disappeared.  
  
"Well, Tatsumi, I." Tsuzuki was cut off as he suddenly found himself surrounded by shadows.  
  
"One more word from you and all your breakfast will be banned," Tatsumi said calmly as he gave him a deadly glare. Terazuma gulped and tried to change back.  
  
"I'm here to remind you that there will be a 60% reduction in salaries for a indefinite period of time. This applies to everyone with the exception of Tsuzuki, who will experience a 100% reduction. All tea will be reduced to plain water and breakfast is self-provided. From today onwards, all of you have to take care of your three meals and nobody is to work past 7pm using electricity. If you want to work during the night, please remember to bring a candle. All lamps in the office will be switched off until 5pm and yes, please bring your own coffee. Kurosaki-kun, can you come out for a while? I need to speak to you. To the rest of you, have a nice day," with a heartfelt chuckle, Tatsumi left the room, leaving everybody in it stunned.  
  
"Waaaa! How can he be so mean?" Tsuzuki's wail could still be heard as Hisoka followed Tatsumi out of the room. The cut in salary did not particularly bother him as he practised economy more than anything and had saved quite a lot of money. He was curious as to why Tatsumi wanted to speak to him alone.  
  
"What is it, Tatsumi-san?" Hisoka asked the moment Tsuzuki's ranting and ravings could no longer be heard. Tatsumi halted and turned to face him. Hisoka was startled by the serious expression on his face.  
  
"Kurosaki-kun, you are requested to assist Watari in a case in Kyoto. It is a very crucial case and he needs your help urgently. I hope you do your best to assist him," Tatsumi said as he placed a hand on Hisoka's shoulder. To the teenager's surprise, he felt tremendous concern flowing from the normally emotionless man.  
  
More on his guard, Hisoka asked, "Of course I will do my best but what about Tsuzuki? I can't just leave him here, he's my partner."  
  
"I'm sorry, Hisoka. It seems that you have to. It's orders from above that you leave with Watari immediately. We are going to his lab now. He will brief you on the details," Tatsumi resumed his pace and quickened it as they neared Watari's lab. "Of course you are expected to keep the expense of this trip within the budget and any excess will be deducted from both of your salaries." Hisoka sighed inwardly with relief. Now he knew that Tatsumi was back.  
  
They finally arrived at Watari's lab.  
  
"Did you bring him? Konnichiwa, bon," even the seriousness of the situation did not affect the smile on the blonde man's face. Hisoka felt a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He nodded his acknowledgement to the man.  
  
"So you did not tell him?" Watari Yutaka's tone changed immediately when he addressed the older man. Hisoka saw them exchanging worried looks.  
  
"I will leave you to brief him. I believe you will do a better job. After all, you have all the evidences. Please be careful. If it really turns out to be him..." Tatsumi paused uncomfortably, not knowing how to continue.  
  
"Good luck." It seemed to Hisoka that Tatsumi almost ran out of the room. He was getting really bad vibes about this whole situation. Firstly, why did Tatsumi call him alone to assist Watari? Why had he excluded Tsuzuki? The three of them had worked together on cases before? Did he think they would not get along? Hisoka shook his head. That was ridiculous. But what did Tatsumi say when he left? If it really turns out to be him? Who? It was getting more and more confusing. Never mind, Watari would brief him and that should clear his doubts.  
  
"Um..bon," Watari began hesitantly. Hisoka's head snapped up and he looked at the blond man expectantly.  
  
"You see, there has been a series of murders in Kyoto. Up till now, 8 people have been killed. I have been assigned to this case quite some time ago but had not made any breakthroughs until the last victim." Hisoka nodded knowingly but he still did not understand why Tatsumi and Watari were so nervous. This sounded like a typical case to him. He waited patiently for Watari to continue.  
  
"The victims did not seem to share anything in common. All of them vary in gender, age, physical appearance, family background and preference. The time of death ranges from a few minutes to a few hours after midnight. The only similarity is that all of them are murdered under a sakura tree." Hisoka shuddered involuntarily. This sounded too much like a certain hated person for his comfort.  
  
"How did they die?"  
  
"Their throat was torn open and they bled to death. The reason why we are called in is because their souls did not return. All of them."  
  
"Are the souls locked up somewhere? Do we need to rescue.."  
  
"No Hisoka, the souls are not kidnapped. Upon closer investigation, it is discovered that their souls have been torn apart, mauled beyond repair. That is to say, all eight of them, have completely vanished from this earth. Someone, or something has destroyed even their soul. And this someone or something, is still at large."  
  
Hisoka was speechless. He had never encountered something like this before and from the look the scientist was giving him, it was obvious that he did not either. Complete destruction of the soul was only given to people who have traded their souls with demons, the most serious crime you could commit on earth. Even murders kept their souls. It meant that your existence would be utterly wiped from the face of the earth. You could never enter heaven. You couldn't even hope to enter hell. It was the worst punishment you could give to anyone. To think that someone or something actually had the ability to do something like that. A soul was supposed to be the saintliest thing on earth, wasn't it? What can destroy it?  
  
Hisoka felt cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. His mouth felt dry and he felt sure that a headache was coming on. "So we need to take care of this thing fast before anymore soul was destroyed right? Wait, why did you call someone like me? Shouldn't you call Tsuzuki? He is much more powerful than I am. He should be dealing with this kind of thing " Hisoka felt his suspicions returning.  
  
Watari cringed. "There's more. Did I mention to you just now that we don't have the faintest idea who or what was doing something like that? It could not be a demon because it is not their tendency to tear souls apart and waste the precious energy that can be obtained from the souls. As there are no similarities among the victims, we could only wait for the next victim. However, we learnt something very important about the murderer from the eighth victim. Under her nails, we found some dead skin cells. We assume that they belong to the murderer as they are fresh and they do not match with the victim's. Take a look at this."  
  
Watari strode to the computer. Hisoka followed him, a little afraid of the results.  
  
"Owing to the fact that the cells are dead and there's not much of it in the first place, I can only do a partial analysis of the DNA that made up the cells. They yield a very interesting result." Watari was clicking away at the computer. Hisoka licked his parched lips. His ears were pounding with anticipation and nervousness.  
  
"This is roughly the genetic makeup of the DNA and after further analysis, it is found that the owner of this DNA is a male with blood type B and black hair. Mostly importantly, he has a pair of purple eyes."  
  
Watari heard a sharp intake of breath and he closed his eyes wearily. However, he forced himself to continue. "I was inclined to believe the results to be wrong and the redid the test 20 over times. They yield the same results. I'm sorry Hisoka, but DNA never lies. Then I matched Tsuzuki's DNA with this DNA and, Hisoka, it's a 100% match. Watch."  
  
Hisoka watched with disbelieve as the two DNA fit each other perfectly and formed one single picture. The words below proclaimed a 100% match and he still could not believe his eyes when the resulting picture appeared on the screen. It was Tsuzuki Asato, his best friend and partner.  
  
Hisoka did not believe this. He did not want to. This is crazy. It has to be. This could not be true, this could not be true. How could his gentle and lovable partner do something like this? No, this has to be one huge, big, horrible nightmare. This could not be true. It could not. Hisoka muttered continuously under his breath. He was vaguely aware that Watari was still saying something. He did not want to hear it. He refused to hear anything that tried to convince him that the nightmare was the reality.  
  
"Bon, did you hear what I said?" Watari shook him gently. Hisoka felt concern from his touch and his distraught mind was unconsciously comforted. However, his numb brains still could not register what Watari had said. He stared at him uncomprehendingly. Finally, he nodded unconvincingly. Watari frowned a little. Hisoka felt more concern flowing from him. It was too much. It was blinding him. It was drowning him. For a while, he thought he was hearing the ocean. Above the roar of the waves, he seemed to hear Watari's voice.  
  
"Bon, I was saying, I need you to do a final test to confirm whether the mur-the person behind all this is Tsuzuki. We have to go the Chijou immediately."  
  
Hisoka felt himself nodding. He blinked. Watari's face seemed so blur and who is switching off all the lights? Why did the room seem so dark all of a sudden? Wait, even the ground is getting bigger. Oh no, I'm hallucinating, was the last thing Hisoka thought as he fell to the ground.  
  
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A/N: hiya ppl, this is a long chapter. Hope you like it. I'm still not a very experienced writer so pls be kind with me. Oh and pls very kindly leave a review. I would appreciate it very much. Thanks.  
  
For people who reads my the other fanfic, Black Sins, im sorry it's not updated but I think the nxt chapter is going to take sometime to come out. ::coughs:: um, this is becoz, well, you see, I have gone for holiday for sometime [actually im still on hol but I managed to obtain a computer ::yeah::] so all my thoughts for that fic is disrupted. ::coughs again:: so yar, my apologies but I need some time to gather my thoughts again. This occurred while im on hol and this is supposed to be the sequel for Black Sins [in order for Hisoka and all the rest to come out] and beats me why I'm writing this now. Actually I was very clear about what to write for Black Sins but after the hol, im not so clear but never mind, im sure it will come back so in the mean time, pls review this story :)  
  
Disclaimer: Yami no Matsuei does not belong to me ::sniffs:: and I sincerely thank theria for providing the translations for Byakko's summoning 


	2. Chapter 2

The Wound That Never Heals  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Footsteps echoed throughout the empty corridor as a figure in black ran at neck breaking speed towards the infirmary. Tsuzuki Asato surprised everybody inside when he suddenly burst through the doors of the infirmary.  
  
"Hisoka, are you all right?" Tsuzuki shouted as he rushed to the only occupied bed in the room. To his surprise, the pair of emerald green eyes staring back at him reflected the worry he felt. "Hisoka?"  
  
Staring up at the purple eyes filled with unspoken concern, Kurosaki Hisoka tried hard to mask his feelings and act like his usual self. "Baka, of course I'm all right." Looking around him, he saw the expectant faces of Tatsumi Seiichirou and Watari Yutaka. He sighed. "Anou, Tsuzuki..." However, before he could get another word out, Tsuzuki rushed towards Watari.  
  
"What happened to Hisoka? Was it the curse? Was that why he fainted all of a sudden?" Tsuzuki's eyes flashed with anger as he thought of the man who placed the curse. The reason why Hisoka was so frail was entirely because of the curse and he hate Muraki Kazutaka for it.  
  
"The curse?" The blonde stared back at him, confused. "Oh the curse. No, no, it was not because of the curse. It was due to um...um...over, overwork and erm...exhaustion. Yes, yes, it was because of it. Now Tsuzuki, did you give all the paperwork to bon again?" The resident doctor stared at the purple-eyed shinigami accusingly.  
  
Tsuzuki flushed. "Well, it was because I erm...got drunk once in a while and well, you know. Oh Hisoka, I'm so sorry for leaving all the paperwork to you. I promise you once you get well, I will do all your paperwork for you as well."  
  
Hisoka closed his eyes tiredly at this empty promise. "You said the same thing two weeks ago." He did not want his partner to be so considerate towards him. It made what he was going to say all the harder.  
  
"Oh um....did I? Oh well. Anyway, you must get well soon. I will bring you some of your favourite dishes tomorrow when I visit you. Hisoka, I was so worried for you. I'm really sorry for being so lazy and causing you to faint due to exhaustion from overworking. Watari, when can he leave the infirmary?"  
  
"Soon. I don't think you need to bring him any of your cooking. In fact, he can leave first thing tomorrow."  
  
Hisoka looked for Tatsumi desperately. He had to do it now. They were leaving for Chijou tomorrow. However, he seemed to lack the courage to tell Tsuzuki that he was going to leave him and that they had to work separately. Tsuzuki cared so much for him that it made his heart ache. He found Tatsumi and saw the man looking at him. His desperation must have been shown on his face. The man nodded at him.  
  
"Tsuzuki-san, it's late and I believe it's better not to disturb Kurosaki- kun now. Let him get the rest he deserved. Come on, I have something important to speak to you about." Tatsumi was slowly guiding Tsuzuki towards the door of the infirmary.  
  
Tsuzuki turned around and gave Hisoka a huge grin. "Daijoubu ne? Oyasumi, Hisoka." It warmed Hisoka's heart. Tsuzuki was pleasantly surprised when the green-eyed boy responded with a timid smile. It was the first time he had seen Hisoka smile. It was so much like an angel smiling. His own smile widened, if possible. When the pair had left the room, Hisoka turned towards Watari with a worried frown. "Gomen nasai, I didn't have the courage to tell him. Sorry I'm so weak. If another person was killed tonight, it would be all my fault."  
  
Watari ruffled his hair playfully. "Don't worry, bon, I'm sure Tatsumi will do a good job of telling him. Rest well tonight and make sure you are strong for tomorrow. That would be enough. Don't think so much. Sleep tight. Oyasumi."  
  
Hisoka nodded and closed his eyes. However, sleep couldn't seem to come. What if it was really him? If it was really him...he did not want to think.  
  
Outside the infirmary, Tsuzuki was getting very nervous. "Um...Tatsumi-san, the important thing was not about my latest expenditure right?"  
  
"Oh? Please explain your latest expenditure then. How came you can exceed by so much?"  
  
"Waaa! Gomen nasai, Tatsumi-san. It was just that when I saw the cream puffs, I couldn't resist. They even had a competition over who can eat the most cream puffs in an hour. But just then our suspect came into view and I didn't get the finish the competition so I had to pay for all the cream puffs I ate."  
  
"And that proved to be quite a lot, didn't it? Well, well, now I know. Don't look so scared, Tsuzuki-san. It was a good guess but no, I'm not going to talk to you about your outstanding bills. It's about...Kurosaki- kun." Tatsumi used a tired hand to push up his glasses.  
  
Tsuzuki was instantly alert. "What about Hisoka?"  
  
"As you know, shinigamis have to work in pairs. However, Watari does not have a partner and he is investigating a very important case now. Hence, Kurosaki-kun will be his partner temporarily."  
  
"But that will leave me partnerless! Why couldn't the both of us work with Watari? That has happened before, hadn't it?"  
  
"It's just for one case, Tsuzuki-san. And I hope you still remembered what happened the last time the three of you worked together." Tatsumi cringed. He knew he had said the wrong thing. Nobody could have forgotten what had happened.  
  
Tsuzuki flinched visibly. He remembered everything all too well. The murders, Muraki, Mariko, Suzaku, the flames, the pain, Tohda and, Hisoka. He was shaking and couldn't seem to stop. Suddenly, he felt a warm arm around him. Tatsumi.  
  
"I'm sorry, Tsuzuki-san, I did not want to bring back your memories." The unwanted memories. "Go home and rest. We still have to work tomorrow." Tatsumi turned to go. Tsuzuki grabbed his hand. "When will they leave?" Tatsumi looked at the pain-filled face. He hesitated. "Tomorrow, first thing in the morning." Tsuzuki nodded and let go of his hand. He turned to go.  
  
Tatsumi watched the man leave with a familiar ache in his heart. He wanted to rush to the man, take him in his arms and comfort him. However, he knew that he did not have the right anymore. Tsuzuki belonged to someone else now. He could only wish for him to be happy. He too, turned to go, but in the other direction. Their paths will never cross again.  
  
It was a cool starry night. The air smelt faintly of sakuras, as usual. Meifu had all too many of them, Tsuzuki decided. He had always enjoyed the solitude and quietness on his way home. It gave him time to think, to take off his mask. He still had several tons of paper work in his office but he wasn't particularly concerned. Hisoka would it for him eventually. With a pang, he realized that Hisoka would not be there to do the paperwork for him. That set him thinking. Was this Hisoka's subtle way of telling him that he was tired of being his partner? He quickly discarded that idea. Hisoka was never subtle. Then why had they not wanted to work with him? It must be something he did. Was Hisoka sick of him? Maybe the temporary change would turn out to be permanent. He shook his head. What happened in Kyoto previously was all too fresh in his mind. Maybe they were just considerate for him. That must be it. As the night progressed, the clouds slowly uncovered the moon, the light from which dimmed all the stars.  
  
Tsuzuki did not notice. It was a red moon.  
  
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*  
  
Only Mariko's lonely steps could be heard as she hurried home. It was getting late. There was not even a single soul around. She shuddered as another blast of chilly wind tore through her clothing. She pulled them tighter around her.  
  
Mariko wanted to kick herself for taking this shortcut through the sakura trees. It was so dark and nobody would be around to help her if she got into trouble. Twenty more minutes and she would be out of here. Suddenly, the moon came out from behind the clouds. She was momentarily glad for the light it gave. Then she stopped and looked up. It was a red moon, the colour of blood. She shivered, like a leaf shaking in the wind. She started to run. Little did she know, there was no escape for her.  
  
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*  
  
Tsuzuki couldn't sleep. He had been tossing and turning in his bed for the past two hours but to no avail. It was going to be midnight soon. It was no use. He might as well as get up and have a drink of water. Tsuzuki had never experienced insomnia before. But this had happened for the past seven to eight days already. He couldn't seem to fall asleep before midnight. Then he will experience weird dreams of which he had utterly no memory of. Luckily it had not affected his work in the day or Tatsumi will cut his salary again. Wait a minute, he had no longer any salary to cut from. With a depressed moan, he sank back to his bed.  
  
He did not know when he fell asleep, but when he finally did, it was a sleep plagued with dreams.  
  
The air smelt faintly of sakuras, as usual. Am I in Meifu? There sure were a lot of sakura trees. In fact, everywhere I looked there seemed to be quite a few. But...if this was Meifu, where was EmmaCho? This place seemed to be a sakura forest. The night was cool enough and everywhere was well lit up by the warm glow of the moon. Wait, why was the glow of the moon red? Unless...it's really a red moon. Oh no, Muraki. Was he nearby? Did he commit murder again? What was this place? Wasn't I in bed? If I was in bed, then I should be sleeping. If I was sleeping, then this must be a dream. Right, I'm in a dream right now. But...where was Tohda? Where was the flame, the pain? Unless, this is a different dream. Great, everything just seemed to get better and better. Now, how do I get out of here? Is that a woman? What was she doing out here? Would she be easy to kill? Oh gosh! Why am I thinking about that? I should really get out of here.  
  
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~*  
  
The crimson moon shone down upon the sakura trees and the woman, who was running as if she had lost her mind. It seemed to mock everything it saw. With an almost human-like chuckle, it disappeared behind the blankets of clouds. Everything went dark. Even the stars did not dare to show their faces.  
  
Mariko finally stopped running. It was too dark to see. In the quiet of the night, she could only hear her own raspy breathings. Even that eventually stopped and all was left was the screaming silence. Yet, she could not seem to shake off the nagging feeling that someone or something was following her. It could not be far behind. Did she just hear footsteps? She froze. Her heart was in her mouth as she slowly crouched down and put her ear to the ground. There it was again. Thump, thump, thump. The ground had amplified the sound but she rather wished it had not. She got up slowly to her knees. Oh God. She was shaking so badly. She wanted to cry but she dared not. She had never been this scared in her life. Kneeling there, in the dark. Waiting and waiting, perhaps for her death.  
  
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A/N: 3 stories in one day. Author is about to die. Um...I will probably be dormant for quite a while. Until I get my hands on another computer with internet connections, that is. As I said, I'm still on holiday. It's winter here. It's freezing. One day, the temperature drops about 20 degrees. I'm down with flu. One whole roll of tissue a day for my nose. Arghhhhhhhh! The nxt time you see me I might be dead already. Ok, anw, that's not the point. The important thing is, pls review and review and review. You have no idea how miraculous one review is for my cold. It can save my life for all you know. So please leave a review. Author thanks you very much :]  
  
Reply to reviews:  
  
Tessa Marlene: Thank you so much for your continuous support :] ::big hug:: you are wonderful. If I die during my trip I will mention you in my will and let you have all my scripts ::winks::  
  
not so innocent bystander: thank you for your review and hope you have a pleasant trip. Hope its more successful than mine ::reaches for another tissue::  
  
Disclaimer: Yami no Matsuei does not belong to me. It never did and never will. ::breaks down in tears:: ::sighz:: it takes away the last comfort of my life. 


	3. Chapter 3

The Wound That Never Heals 

Chapter 3

Hisoka felt an uneasiness he had never felt in a long time. He had felt sure that something bad is going to happen soon. The last time he had felt like this was the night when Muraki- damn it, why was I thinking about that bastard? Hisoka clamped shut his jaw in anger. He took a deep breath to steady himself. God, why does it has to be him? It can't be him. He hurts even when he has to tell somebody that they're supposed to die. How can he be destroying souls?

DNA never lies. Watari's voice came to him as he desperately tried to find something wrong with the case. He couldn't. Damn it. Wait a minute, there is one circumstance in which DNA will lie. That's it. That has to be it. Yet, it couldn't be. He had to talk to Watari. Right now. Hisoka got out of the infirmary and made his way to Watari's lab. 

~*~*~

Mariko started running again. The footsteps behind her got louder and louder. It seemed to start and stop when she did. Mariko was panting profusely and a stitch was developing. Once again, Mariko stopped and listened. With horror and a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach, she realized that this time, the footsteps did not stop with her. Without wasting another second, Mariko ran for her life. 

The red moon was coming out of the clouds again when Mariko suddenly felt a hand on her right shoulder. Without a warning, the hand pulled and she was jerked rudely backwards. She landed painfully on her back, completely winded. Mariko clutched her sides and opened her mouth to regulate her breathings. However, she couldn't seem suck in any air. Panic well up unconsciously as she tried harder to breathe. Staring up at the sky, Mariko had to admit that the moon was a beautiful red colour, like the colour of fresh blood, sensual and inviting. Just then, a shadow fell over Mariko. Clouds? Mariko's oxygen-deprived mind thought weakly. It was a face. It's owner reached out a hand and pulled Mariko roughly to her feet. 

Mariko was finally able to draw in breaths. She studied the face in front of her. It was the face of a man, a handsome man at that. In fact, he could almost be described as pretty. It was a fair, lean face half covered with black fringe. However, try as they might, the black fringe could not hide the jewel feature of the face. The astonishing pair of amethyst eyes. He was a tall, handsome man, Mariko decided as she slowly backed away from him, with piercing eyes. The purple eyes seemed to bore right through her. "Thanks," Mariko muttered uncertainly as she further widened their distance. With voice so soft that she thought she had imagined it, the man in black trench coat replied, "I like my prey to have more fight in them. It would make the killing more pleasurable"

Mariko sucked in her breath. She turned around immediately and took to her heels. Just a little more, just a little more and I would be in the city. She encouraged herself. She did not see the man smirking at her flight. She did not see him jump suddenly into the air, black trench coat spread all around him, like the wings of bats. She did not see him flying straight for her. She only realized when he landed solidly in front of her, blocking her only way to safety, sealing the rest of her life away. 

~*~*~

"Watari-san," Hisoka called out as he poked his head into the scientist's lab. At a first glance, he found it empty but suspiciously full of smoke. Covering his nose and mouth with his hand, he let himself into the room. "Watari-san?" he called again as he inspected the lab. Finally, he headed towards what looked like a makeshift bed. True enough, Watari was on it, fast asleep, for once. 

"Tatsumi-san……… need more budget………. agarose gel ran out………. can't do DNA test, need more TAE buffer as well……… won't blow up lab again……… onegai," Watari uttered incoherently in his sleep. Hisoka suppressed a grin and shook the blonde scientist gently. When he did not stir, he shook him with more force. Watari sat up suddenly and looked at Hisoka. Then he promptly sank back into his bed. Hisoka, with a force that surprised even himself, yanked Watari out of his bed. A few minutes later, when Watari had finally sobered enough to form coherent sentences, he asked Hisoka very nicely what the hell is he doing in his lab at this time of the night. 

"Watari-san, there's something very important that I have to tell you. It's regarding the case," Hisoka said seriously. Watari yawned and stretched. Hisoka ignored him and continued. "You could be wrong. DNA can lie." Watari was immediately alert. "What did you say? I'm wrong?" Hisoka took a deep breath. "Yes, you seem to have forgotten that twins have the same DNA. So it could be another person instead of Tsuzuki."

Watari stroke his chin purposefully, obviously deep in thoughts. "Bon," he finally said, "So does Tsuzuki have a twin I don't know of? We know he has a sister but the DNA of siblings will also differ." Hisoka sank to the ground, depressed. So this information was not helpful to them at all, unless the baka really has a twin. Well……… that was quite impossible, wasn't it? He turned to leave, "Oyasumi Watari-san. Sorry for waking you up." Watari smiled at him brightly in response. "Don't worry, bon, we will find evidence that he's innocent. Maybe all this is just a misunderstanding. Go to sleep, bon." Hisoka nodded sadly and headed towards the infirmary. 

~*~*~

Mariko backed away slowly from the man. "What do you want from me?" she cried frantically, never once taking her eyes away from the amethyst ones. The man chuckled. Mariko winced. The sound was too deep and smooth to come from the tall, handsome man. "Your soul," he said in that same soft whisper. Mariko gasped and tried once again to run away. However, this time, before she could move another inch, his hand shoot out with lightning speed and grasped her neck in a deadly grip. Mariko tried to beat his hand off. He was just too strong. Desperate, Mariko began to claw at his arm. She drew long bloody scratches along his arm but he did not even flinch. To her horror and amazement, the scratches slowly closed and healed, leaving only hints of places where dried blood had once been.

Mariko was slowly fading away. Her futile struggles were becoming weaker and weaker. Her oxygen-deprived body felt faint and all that filled her vision was the blood red moon behind the man. Slowly, she felt herself being raised off the ground. Her legs kicked at the air in protest. The man chuckled in that horrible voice again. "Didn't they tell you that resistance is futile?" Mariko closed her eyes. She couldn't even swallow. Suddenly, the hand on her neck tightened. Mariko's throat made no sound but her body protested violently. /_Just like a beautiful goldfish on land, gasping for air/_ With a smile, he squeezed harder. The dark, silent night was pierced by a sickening crack as the spine broke. The neck was reduced to a mess of blood and tissues. The woman, dead. 

Tsuzuki smiled at his latest accomplishment and waited patiently for the soul to appear. The soul will linger for sometime around the body before it departs for its holy journey to The Judgement. Only very well trained eyes would be able to see the soul at this most vulnerable stage. After it, the soul would be untouchable. His patience finally paid off as the thin wispy apparition appeared over the body. It gradually grew stronger and more solid. Tsuzuki approached the soul with respect. He never understood why nobody noticed that when a soul appear, all life was subdued. There would be almost complete silence as all life treated the soul with utmost reverie. The soul stared at him with vacant eyes. Once rid of the body, the soul will lose the ability to think, until The Judgement. Until then, it will rely completely on the most basic ability of all creatures – instinct. 

The soul turned back to its body and hovered over it. Tsuzuki grinned almost lazily and suddenly concentrated. Deep inside him, he was searching for his hidden powers. The powers that everyone had taken so much pains to hide. Reaching all the way inside, he summoned the dark powers, the demonic powers. His face contorted as the enormous power tried to surface. A dark purple circle, several shades darker than his eyes, appeared around him and enveloped him. When he emerged from the circle, he was a different man. His eyes blazed with hellish fires and his body smothered with devilish smoke as he gained mastery over the demonic powers. Yet, this power could not be used without leaving a mark. Little did he know, a tiny 'X' was carved into his palm every time he used it. 

He looked over at the soul, which had shuddered visibly. He smirked and unleashed his powers. The soul staggered as the blinding purple light reached it and eventually devoured it. Inside the circle created by Tsuzuki's power, the soul couldn't resist any longer. With a loud wail, it exploded. As the purple light subsided, the sky was filled with a soft yellow light. Closing his eyes, Tsuzuki could almost hear the Earth herself singing in sorrow for the lost soul. For a single moment, he felt all life cease to breathe as they shed universal tears for the soul. Perversely enjoying himself, Tsuzuki was lost in the heavenly music. 

He was completely unaware that behind the sakura tree that was to the left of him, two figures were watching him in morbid fascination. The man was amused but the woman was not. She frowned. "Why does it have to have so much blood?" The man, clothed entirely in white, laughed in amusement. It was a deep and smooth laughter, like the pleasant sound of the beritone saxophone. "Doesn't it make it all the more interesting?" The woman's brilliant purple eyes flashed indignantly as she regarded the sadistic man standing beside her. Finally, she shrugged. "Well, I suppose it would do him good if he got used to it." "Of course, you have his best interests at heart," the man countered. The woman's beautiful face creased into another frown as she said, "You do realize I can tear your mouth apart, Muraki?" The man snickered. "Of course I do, dear Ruka-chan."

~*~*~

In his apartment, Tsuzuki finally fell into the clutches of real sleep. 

~*~*~

Hisoka woke up to see the bright sun streaming in from the widow. With a moan, he realized he must have overslept. Before he could get off the bed, Watari burst in. Seeing that Hisoka was already awake, he gave him a huge grin. "Ohayo! Bon. I checked with GushouShin, they confirmed my belief that Tsuzuki did not have a twin. His only relatives were his parents and his sister. If you're ready, we have to set off immediately." His voice took on a worried tone. "There has been another murder last night. We need to get to the murder scene as soon as possible."

Hisoka frowned. He felt guilty there had been another murder, yet he was hesitant to investigate. Finally, he shrugged off his uneasiness. "Ok, give me two minutes to get changed." Soon, they were on their way to Chijou.

"So bon, this is the place," Watari finally said as they flew over a large sakura forest. Watari landed lightly on the ground. Hisoka followed shortly behind. The moment he landed on the ground, he dropped to his knees in pain. Watari rushed to him in alarm. "What's wrong, bon?" Hisoka gritted his teeth and finally let out a soft moan. "Bon?" Watari asked again gently. Hisoka got up slowly and said through clenched teeth, "I'm all right. It's just that this place has too much sadness. What could be causing this tremendous sorrow?" Watari hesitated. "Well, I've heard that souls are supposed to be the holiest things in Chijou, Meifu and Makai. They are the essentials that made up every being, from angels to demons. Angels free souls while demons consume souls. That's why when a soul was destroyed, all life will mourn it and cry for it. At this place, nine souls have already been destroyed. It's no wonder there's so much sadness."

Hisoka listened silently. Determination seemed to flash in his eyes. "Bon?" Watari asked uncertainly. Hisoka turned to him with a grave expression. "We need to stop whoever that's doing this right? To prevent more souls from being destroyed, we need to. Whoever it is, we must stop it. Let's go." Watari studied the wise young man perpetually stuck in the body of sixteen. He felt pity for him and a new admiration. 

When they reached the scene of murder, a lot of policemen and passers-by had arrived. With a nod at each other, they turned invisible. They slipped past the police and came to the body covered with white cloth. Nearby, they heard an old man telling the police how he found the body. "It was very scary. I was sweeping this lane, as usual, at about 7 in the morning when I smelt the smell of blood. The smell of blood, I tell you. I followed the smell and saw a lot of blood seeping into the ground. I walked a little further and I saw the woman. It's horrible, I tell you, whoever is the killer must be very strong. He squeezed the neck until the neck was gone. I only saw the head hanging by a few tendrils of flesh onto the body. Blood was everywhere……… " 

Hisoka and Watari exchanged a purposeful look. Hisoka tried to stretch out his empathy. He felt nothing. A total blank. Curious and mildly alarmed, he let down his shields completely. Still nothing. Despite the number of people around him, he felt nothing. No happiness, no sadness, like a blank wall. Seriously alarmed, he bent down and touched the corpse. Again, nothing. Hisoka panicked. He was supposed to feel the last lingering memories of the victim and the last emotions she felt. How could he feel nothing? This was not supposed to happen, unless his empathy was gone. His eyes threatened to water at the thought. Despite all the trouble his empathy caused him, he had grown attached to it. He was familiar with constant feel of human emotions and the slight buzzing of the noisy people. So why the heck would he be feeling nothing and hearing nothing now?

Hisoka swallowed painfully and finally withdrew his hand. Abruptly, he grabbed Watari's hand and ran out of the crowd. A safe distance away, they materialized and Hisoka started blabbering. Watari put up and hand to steady. "Whoa, hang on, one thing at a time. What were you saying?" Hisoka took a deep breath to calm himself. "Watari-san, I think my empathy is not working. I could not sense the lingering memories and emotions of the deceased and when I stretch out my empathy, I couldn't even pick up the emotions of the people around me. What the hell is happening?" Watari gaped at him. "Your empathy is not working?" He scratched his chin thoughtfully. Finally, he opened his mouth. "Well, I can attribute it to three things. Firstly, your empathy could really be gone, which is quite unlikely. You still had it yesterday, didn't you? Secondly, the dampening effects of the soul. And lastly, someone has deliberately put up a dampening zone to block you empathy."

When Hisoka looked confused, he started to explain. "Well, I'm not sure about this but the remains of a destructed soul is very powerful. It will absorb all the sadness the world has given to it. Hence, I think the emotions that it contains have gone to the extreme that it will have a dampening effect on empathy or any attempt to sort it out. Either ways, we just have to get out of the dampening zone and your empathy will return to normal." Hisoka nodded mutely and followed Watari as he walked further and further away from the crowd. He stretched out his empathy. Nothing. They walked further away. He was beginning to get a fuzzy feeling. They walked a bit further away and his empathy was back on full blast. 

Watari grinned at the relieved expression on the young empath's face. "Now bon, I want you to stretch out your empathy and tell me who had been here before." Hisoka nodded and concentrated. He felt fear and unease. "Mariko." "Yes, that's the woman who was killed. Who was with her?" Hisoka concentrated further. He couldn't detect any other emotions. His brows fused in irritation. Watari noticed his difficulty and tired to help. "Hisoka, if you can't find any distinct emotions, try to look for familiarity. Do you find anything familiar? Is there someone you know?" Hisoka winced at the implication but he did as Watari advised. Yet, for quite sometime, he couldn't find anything. He was getting tired. Suddenly, he picked it up. Black trench coat……… black fringes……… astonishing amethyst eyes. Hisoka's eyes widened as he realized. 

With a strangled whisper, Hisoka uttered, "It's Tsuzuki! It's really him!" 

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A/N: well ppl, I finally survived enuf to come back. Cliffhanger. I know. Well, the updates frm now will be fast [I hope] but it will depend on the no. of reviews I get, of coz. If the number is too discouraging, I mite juz abandon this fic. Im serious. Ok, in a bad mood. Its abt 2 am. Why am I still up? I really gotta sleep. Bye ppls. Really huge thanks to all those who reviewed. Sorry too sleepy to thank everyone individually. Everyone pls review and review and review. Thanx a lot. 

Disclaimer: nothing fancy diz time. Im really sooooo sleepy. Yami doesn't belong to me. 

Ok everyone, im finally going to sleep. Good nite. Happy reading my story. Once again, pls review. 


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